Escaflowne: Destiny's Path
by amaliaelliott
Summary: Hitomi has just returned to Earth after her adventures on Gaea. How does she deal with normal life after such an adventure? How does she feel now that she has left Van behind and may never be able to return... would she return if she could? Some closure for lovers of the show, as well as a whole new story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The pillar of light touched down on the grass just outside the Kanzaki residence. Hitomi crouched in front of her family's house as the light retreated back into the sky. She slowly stood up and shouldered her duffle bag. She heaved a sigh, began to walk towards her door, and stopped dead. Her stomach was turning into knots, and her throat closed up in anguish. She was back. Why was she back? She had wanted to come home so much. She had wanted to come back to her life on Earth despite everything she had gained on Gaea. Now she was in uncontrollable anguish. Her heart wrenched. She had the distinct feeling that she was feeling Van's pain as well. She hoped he couldn't feel hers. As tears began to squeeze themselves from the corners of her green eyes, she made the decision to keep going. She would be okay. This was her home. Earth. This is where she belonged... at least that's what she had been saying all the while she was on Gaea.

Hitomi collected herself, wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist, and started out again for her front door. This life would have to do. There was no going back to Gaea now. She had given Van her grandmother's pendant, her only connection to the Draconian world. She made her decision to come back, and now she would just have to live with it. Van said they would be close as long as their thoughts could reach each other right? She hoped he was right anyway. They had no way of knowing how the magic between their worlds worked. She could be completely cut off now... But no... she was feeling Van's pain right? That meant she still had some connection to Gaea, at least through Van.

Hitomi reached her front door. She turned the handle and opened the door. The front hallway was dark. Hitomi wondered what time it was. Time moved differently on Earth than it did on Gaea. Just because it had been dusk on Gaea, didn't mean it would be dusk on Earth, or even the same day... or year. The last time she had returned to Earth, briefly, she had arrived home before the point at which she had left.

The house was completely quiet. Hitomi caught site of a clock in the other room. It said it was just after 3. Hitomi walked up the stairs to the second floor, being as quiet as possible. Her name was still on her bedroom door. Good, than she had either returned not long before or not long after her departure. She wondered if Amano had left the country yet. Her feelings for him had waned over the course of her adventures on Gaea, due in more than a small part to Van. Even Allen didn't hold onto her heart in quite the same way. She really had never felt anything like it. Now that she was back on Earth she felt like a piece of herself was missing. She hadn't expected that.

She entered her room. Everything was as it had always been. She kicked off her shoes and sank onto her bed, tossing her duffle bag on the floor in the corner. The knot in the middle of her chest twisted. She would be strong. She would have to be. It would hurt less with time... and besides... as long as their thoughts could reach each other... She thought she heard a question in the back of her mind. It wasn't her question. It was more the feeling of a question than anything, and it didn't feel like it was her own mind. That must be Van. They really could reach each other! The knot it Hitomi's chest rose and flared with excitement. This would be okay. She would be okay.

Van, I am okay. I have returned. I am in my own room and I am well. Tell the others that I am well. She thought it as hard as she could, and put as much emotion behind it as possible. That wasn't hard, there was a lot of emotion to be put behind it. She felt a flood of a feeling like relief that was not hers alone. She could also feel sadness, but she couldn't be sure if that was all her own or not. She could feel a calm washing over her.

The clock on her side table now read 3:30. She should try and get some sleep. Her mother would be waking her up soon enough for breakfast. She turned over and pulled herself under the covers; the image of Van doing the same was in her mind. That's a funny thought, she would never have thought of Van as someone to sleep in a fluffy bed...

"Hitomi!" Hitomi was shaken awake by being wrapped in her mother's arms. "Hitomi, you're back, you're back!" Her mother was crying and rocking her back and forth like she was a small child, pressed closely to her mother's chest.

"Mother... I can't breath."

"Oh!" Her mother let her go and held her at arms length to get a good look at her. Her mother's eyes were streaming with tears. The clock said it was 7 in the morning.

"Mother..." Hitomi really didn't know what to say. She didn't know how long she had been gone, and certainly didn't know how to tell her mother where she had been.

"I was so worried..." Her mother pulled her close again. "I never thought you were coming back. I came up here every morning because I missed you so..."

Hitomi was being suffocated again by her mother's strength. "Well... I'm back now... and I'm not going anywhere... you can let go..."

Her mother let her go slowly. "Where have you been all this time? I was so worried..."

"I was... away. How long has it been?"

"It has been three months. It will be exactly three months tomorrow." So she hadn't missed much. That's good. She could still go back to school. Restart her normal life.

"Three months... What day is it today?"

"It's Wednesday honey. Would you like some breakfast?" Her mother began to cry again, and grabbed Hitomi. "Oh, I'm just so glad you're home!"

"Yes, I would like some breakfast... could I go to school today?" Hitomi asked slowly. She was hopeful that she hadn't been removed from the school because of her absence.

"I think so... You were reported missing. It should be alright if you go to the Principals office first. Yukari is going to be happy to see you. She was incredibly worried. She helped me out a great deal, along with that nice boy, Amano." Hitomi's mother suddenly looked much more cheerful. "Well, I supposed I should go make breakfast, if you will be heading off to school." Her mother got up and headed downstairs to begin.

Hitomi nodded. Yes, things were going to be okay. Yukari. She had missed Yukari. She had almost forgotten that going to school meant seeing Yukari. Maybe she could even run again. That would be good.

Hitomi reached out with her feelings. She couldn't feel Van at the moment. There were no feelings that were not hers. He was probably still asleep. That's okay, he should get to sleep. She climbed out of bed and changed into her school uniform. She checked herself in the mirror. Everything was in place. She felt weird not seeing the pendant hanging around her neck, but remembering who was wearing it now made her feel better.

Downstairs Hitomi's mother was busy making breakfast. Hitomi could hear her working. Hitomi picked up her duffle bag from the corner and started going through it to find anything she might need for school. Her tarot cards fell out on the floor. The Fool was the only card which fell face up. Hitomi stared at it for a moment. The image of a man walking backwards off of a cliff was not currently a settling one. Walking in the wrong direction... No. She wasn't telling fortunes anymore. That was just a coincidence. She packed up the cards and put them away in her desk drawer.

She continued to rifle through her bag, but wasn't finding anything. Just as she was about to put the bag away a white feather fell out. "Van..." She reached to pick it up and it disappeared under her fingers. The knot in her chest tightened. Wouldn't it ever go away? She knew she could feel Van and she knew he could feel her as well. Everything was okay...wasn't it? She would just have to be strong.

Hitomi grabbed her things for school and went downstairs for breakfast.

Her mother had made a huge breakfast. There were fruit, and pancakes, and muffins. How had her mom fixed all this so quick?

"I hope you're hungry, dear." Her mother said with a smile.

Hitomi smiled back. She sat down and began to eat. When she finished as much as she could she said goodbye to her mother and headed out the door. She thought her mother looked sad as she left.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The walk to school was uneventful. Hitomi arrived at the principals office only fifteen minutes before the first classes would start. She knocked on the door cautiously. She was actually very nervous about going back to school. She should be able to handle this. She had been through war!

The Principal answered and ushered her into the room. Her mother had called this morning and let him know Hitomi was coming, so he was not at all surprised by her arrival.

" Come in Ms. Kanzaki. Your mother tells me you would like to come back to school immediately."

Hitomi nodded.

"It won't be easy. You've missed a lot of work. You may not even get the same teachers. Do you think you will be able to handle that?" He motioned for Hitomi to take a seat, and sat himself on the other side of his desk.

"Yes sir." Said Hitomi as she nodded again, and took the offered seat.

"There is another option, you understand. There isn't that much of this school year left. You could wait until the next semester and start over again. You will be a year behind, but it will be as if this year never happened." It was very hard to read Hitomi's Principal. He was a stern man, but at the moment he almost seemed as if he cared.

"This year did happen for me sir, I would like it to stay that way if that is okay." Hitomi thought of all that had happened this year, and all she did not ever want to forget.

"Alright. Well then, let me add you to some classes today." The Principal turned to his computer and began to type.

Hitomi sat in front of the desk, small in comparison to the Principal. He kept typing, and she sat still, waiting for what would happen next.

After what seemed like forever the Principal turned to Hitomi. "You're all set. There were open seats in enough classes that you have a full schedule." He was quickly writing down all of her classroom numbers and teachers names on a small sheet of paper. "There you go. I hope you can keep up. Now be off to class, or you will be late." He handed her the piece of paper and motioned for her to be on her way.

Hitomi stood, gave a quick bow, said "Thank you, sir." and was on her way.

She made it to her first class on time and took her seat. She had a feeling it would be a long day.

The teacher began her lecture. Hitomi had never had this teacher before. She was moderately tall with black hair pulled back in a tight bun. She was fashionably dressed, but was dressed professionally as well. She obviously took her job very seriously. The way she spoke conveyed the same thing. A serious woman. She reminded Hitomi of a dark version of Millerna's older sister, Eries. She was stern too. Hitomi looked around the class. It was a very large class, and every student seemed to have glassy eyes, as if they were really somewhere else. Was it always like this? Had it always been like this before? Hitomi thought she remembered school being a little more exciting. The clock ticket, one second at a time.

Hitomi reached out her feelings for Van. She received a flood of comfort and longing in return. Van was still there. That was good to know. Hitomi drifted into thoughts of Gaea. It was probably day by now. She wondered if Gaea and Earth were moving in time together now because of her connection with Van. The sun would be shining on green fields. Van would be preparing to meet with his advisors. They still had a long way to go before Fanelia was a flourishing city again, but they had allies to help. With Chid as the new king of Freid in the wake of his father's death in the war, Van would have plenty of help. Gaea was united again. The air would smell very sweet at this time in the day, with a breeze from the east bringing the scents of Asturia all the way to Fanelia...

Every one of Hitomi's classes passed in this manner. She tried to pay attention, but her thoughts inevitably turned to wondering how everyone was doing on Gaea. She would occasionally get feelings from Van about what she was thinking. From what she could tell from the feelings, the restoration was going well. Allen was caring for his sister Celena, Merle was helping with the orphaned children of Fanelia, and Millerna had taken on the responsibility of ruling Asturia. Hitomi couldn't tell from the feelings whether King Aston was still sick or if he had actually passed on. Van didn't seem to care very much. Besides, he was busy with his own kingdom. Hitomi couldn't actually picture Van ruling a country. As much as he disliked violence on principal, he was a warrior.

Finally the day was coming to a close. Hitomi had yet to run into Yukari. She decided to go to the track field and see if she could find her friend. Many of her old friends had stopped Hitomi over the course of the day and tried to talk, but Hitomi didn't have very much to talk about. Her mind was in too much of another place. Yukari might at least be someone she could really tell her adventures to.

The track field was lively, as it always was, at the end of the day. The male and female teams were preparing to train. The final meet would be happening soon. Hitomi saw Yukari on the edge of the field, holding a stopwatch. Normally she would have run right over, but for some reason, this time she paused. What would she say? Well, "hello" would be a good start. But then what? Hitomi stood on the edge of the field, frozen.

Van, what do I do? She couldn't' feel any response this time. She was alone.

Yukari looked up from where she was and saw Hitomi in the distance. Hitomi waved. Well, that was stupid... wave to a friend you haven't seen in three months. Good job.

Yukari was very still for a moment. She waved. Her hand dropped to her side. Suddenly she began running towards Hitomi.

"Hitomi! Hitomi? Is it really you? When did you get back? Why didn't you call me? Where were you all this time? I've been so worried. So has your mother! Have you seen your mother yet? Oh, Hitomi, what happened?" Yukari hugged her friend as if Hitomi had been gone for years.

"I got in last night, around 3. I saw my mother this morning. She made me breakfast. The rest of it... is kind of a long story." Hitomi didn't exactly know how to begin her long story. She didn't even think Yukari would believe her when she did find a way to start, but she would at least listen, and she wouldn't think Hitomi was crazy. "How is Amano, has he left the country?"

"He did, but we write to each other. I will have to tell him you came back! He was very worried when you... when you disappeared... into the sky...I mean..." Yukari seemed reluctant to talk about what she had seen. Perhaps she didn't even believe she had seen it. Perhaps once she had heard Hitomi's story, she would be able to talk about it.

"Do you have to stay here Yukari? Could we go somewhere else to talk?" Hitomi didn't exactly want to be talking about Gaea on school grounds, someone may overhear and think she was crazy.

"I suppose not. Let me go tell the team I am going. Would you like to go eat?" The prospect of Earth food cheered Hitomi.

"Absolutely." She smiled as Yukari ran off to let the team know she would be leaving.

Hitomi and Yukari walked to a restaurant not far away, but that wasn't often over populated. Hitomi asked for a booth in a corner so they would be less likely to be overheard. They both ordered their favorite items, and when the waiter left they sat across from each other with nothing to say.

"Hitomi... where have you been...?" Hitomi didn't know exactly how to start.

"You know the night I left, how that boy saved us from that dragon, and-"

"What dragon? Hitomi, you were just running, and some giant fell out of the sky and carried you away!"

"Oh." Hitomi paused. She had forgotten that she had come back once already... But she had come back before she initially would have left... Yukari wouldn't remember the first time. Yukari would have no memory of her fight with Van on that first night... It seemed so long ago... When they first met.

"You seemed happy to go Hitomi! I didn't know what to think. There was so much light, I could barely see what you were running so happily to! I thought you had gone crazy. I thought I saw someone on the metal giant, but I couldn't be sure." Yukari seemed like she was about to cry. That night must have been very hard on her.

"Yukari... That was the second time I had seen that giant... and the boy who rode it."

"Boy?"

"Well.. Man I suppose... But, it had all happened before. I had already experienced that day. The first time I was carried away by that boy as well, but there had been a real dragon, not just a metal one, and he slayed it, and he didn't know where he was, and he accidentally took me with him and -"

"Hitomi, you're going way too fast..." Yukari looked incredibly confused, and still on the verge of tears. Hitomi decided to start from the beginning.

It took her over an hour just to tell the basics of her adventures on Gaea. Yukari sat still and listened the entire time, her eyes getting wider and wider as the story unfolded. She blushed at the telling of Allen spilling about his past and asking Hitomi to be his wife. She cried when Van was stuck inside Escaflowne and Hitomi was the only one who could bring him out. She laughed when Merle stole Hitomi's pendant. Hitomi was beginning to feel at home, as if Yukari had been there the whole time.

When Hitomi was finished, when she reached the point in the story when she and Van said goodbye and she found herself once again on Earth in front of her house, Yukari sat back. She looked almost as sad and shaken as Hitomi had felt.

" I'm glad you came back, Hitomi, but how? You left so much behind?" She seemed genuinely concerned.

" I left a lot behind when I left here too. I can feel Van, just as he said. We are in each other's thoughts. I will be okay." She could almost feel Van with her now in the back of her mind. She wondered if he could feel her telling the story.

"But... What an adventure. I don't think I could have survived. Life must seem so... boring now."

Hitomi sat up. "You really do believe me Yukari?"

"Of course I do? You aren't all that creative you know, I would have known if you made that up. Besides, you're a horrible liar." Yukari grinned.

"Oh, be quiet!" Hitomi reached across the table and ruffled Yukari's hair.

"What are you going to do now?" Asked Yukari.

"Go on with my life I suppose."

"Without Van? Without Gaea?"

"I'm not really 'without' any of them. They are here." Hitomi placed her hand over her heart. "And I can feel Van there, even if I can't feel the others."

"But you don't seem happy anymore... you were always so happy." Yukari gave Hitomi a long look. "You seem much more serious. You seem older."

"It's not like I could go back anyway. I told you, I gave Van the pendant. That was the link between our worlds. That's how I travelled the first and second times."

"But he sent you here without it, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but he used an Energist, it's more powerful. I think this was a one way trip."

"But you're not sure!"

"Yukari! Stop!" Hitomi was getting frustrated. She had already gone through all of this in her head. "I'm getting used to the idea that I am stuck here, don't open it up again, or I don't think I'll be able to..." Hitomi began to cry. She didn't mean to, but that knot in her chest tightened up again, and she couldn't help it. How could everything be okay if she felt like this all the time? She could feel Van's sadness as well as her own. She knew it was his as well this time. He never could stand to see her cry. Even before he realized his feelings for her.

Yukari switched sides of the table and put an arm around Hitomi.

"Mother is going to be asking what happened. I don't think I can tell it all again. I don't think she would even believe me. She'd think I had gone crazy while I was gone..." Yukari seemed stiff.

"I think she would believe you." Hitomi looked up at her friend.

"What?"

"I think she would believe you. I think she already knows some of it."

"What?!" Hitomi didn't know how that could be possible, or how Yukari would know a thing like that. "How do you know?"

"While you were gone... Amano and I helped your mother out a lot. We spent a bit of time with her. One day she called us over and pulled out an old photo album... She told us a story her mother told her that has some similarities to yours. You said your grandmother got the pendant from Allen's father? I think your grandmother told your mother about that. I don't think your mother really believed it at the time... but now... if she never told you... you couldn't possibly have the same story unless it was true."

Hitomi was dumbstruck. Her mother knew?

"You're mother told us you were okay, that she could feel you, much like you say you can feel Van. Your mother was your link to this world. The pendant probably just emphasized it. So..." Yukari stopped, not wanting Hitomi to break down again.

"I can't tell her now..." Said Hitomi. "I can't... I don't want her to worry that I will want to go back... " Hitomi slumped over with her head in her arms. "I don't know what I'm going to do... I wanted to come back so badly... Now all I want to do is smell the breeze on Gaea and look up at the sky to see Earth hanging there... waiting for me to return someday..."

The next few weeks passed in a similar manner to Hitomi's first day back. She spent her days doing her best to concentrate on her school work. She was back on the track team, and was spending most of her time, when not working on school work, practicing for track meets. She left herself very little time to think. The time she did spend thinking was spent wondering what life was like on Gaea now, and occasionally she would get feelings from Van that let her know how they were doing.

Sometimes Hitomi thought she could see Van, as if he was visiting but didn't quite exist in her reality. Sometimes she wondered if she really was feeling Van in her mind or if she was just making it all up to make herself feel better. As time went on she felt more and more that all the feelings she was getting, and some of the thoughts, were just her imagination; that she didn't really have a mystical connection to her dragon warrior at all. Sometimes that even made her feel like she could be normal again, like she could go back to how things were before she ever knew about Gaea. Maybe it was all a dream. Maybe she made it all up.

Yukari never talked about it. After Hitomi's initial conversation with her, she seemed to get very uncomfortable whenever Hitomi brought it up, so she stopped. She never talked to her mother about it. Her mother never asked about it after that first day. Everyone seemed to go back to their normal routine as if nothing ever happened.

Hitomi even began to convince herself that she was happy.

Amano came to visit a few times. He and Yukari seemed to be getting very close. Hitomi was happy for them. It was right for them to be together.

It was a couple months after her return that Hitomi's mother finally confronted her.

Hitomi was sitting in her room working on school work, as she normally did in her free time since she got back, and her mother knocked at her bedroom door.

"Hitomi? Are you busy?" She asked.

"No. Just working on school work." Her mother entered her room carrying a large photo album. She walked over and sat beside Hitomi on the bed. She heaved a sigh. "Mother, what is it?"

"Honey... It's you, and your school work. I've never seen you work so hard in your life. You barely spend any time with your friends anymore." She sighed again. "You don't even seem to enjoy running like you used to, though you spend so much time practicing?" She sat with the photo album in her lap, her hands folded on top of it.

Hitomi stared at her homework without moving. She couldn't even read what was written on the paper anymore. Her mind was frantic.

"I probably should have talked to you sooner... but I was hoping you would come to me yourself... and tell me." Her mother fingered the edges of the photo album, and finally, reluctantly, opened it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hitomi had no choice. Her mother told her the story of her grandmother, and as much of what she knew from the time Hitomi was away as she was able to understand. Hitomi told her mother of Gaea, and of Van, of what she had left behind. When she had finished, they sat in silence for a long while, Hitomi's mother holding her hand. When her mother finally spoke, it was with sadness but also with conviction.

"You no longer belong here do you?" Hitomi was startled. That was not the response she had expected. She had dreaded her mother pleading with her not to go back, and worrying that she would. "You're grandmother never really belonged here either. Even though her body was here, and she cared for us, her mind was always far away, like it was in another world. When she told me about her visit to another world as a youth, it seemed like that was more real to her than her life here ever had been. She had not only fallen in love with a man, but with a whole world, and nothing here could compare. I believe that when she gave you her pendant, she was giving you that love as well, and the chance to realize it that she never had."

Hitomi wasn't sure how to respond. It seemed almost as if her mother was giving her permission to return to Gaea. Did she even want to go? She could feel Van in the back of her mind. The feeling was plaintive but not eager. He wasn't going to push her to come back. He couldn't hide his feelings of wanting her to though. That wasn't just her imagination.

"I could feel you while you were on Gaea, Hitomi." Her mother squeezed her hand. "It wasn't all good, but you were happy there, in a way I haven't seen you happy since."

"What about school, and track? What about all of the growing up I still need to do? Aren't you supposed to tell me how I have a responsibility to stay? I'm not even sixteen yet!" The knot in Hitomi's chest that had nearly disappeared in the time she had been home was suddenly back. She couldn't contain the feelings in her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. It would have been so easy if her mother had asked her not to go back. It would have been fine if it all could have faded into history, something in her youth she could hang onto as she grew old. Something she could remember as she got married and had children and grandchildren of her own... No. That wasn't her future. Somehow she had known it all along, but it would have been easy to live it.

The love that had pulled her back to Gaea the first time, that had destroyed the Zaibach empire, that had destroyed the indestructible fate alteration machine, was once again calling her. It pulled at her from inside. She realized it hadn't really ever stopped pulling, she had just decided to ignore it.

"Hitomi. I'm not saying I won't miss you. I missed you so much while you were gone. I worried, a lot. So did your friends. And it's your choice. If you want to stay, I will support you, and love you all the same, and do everything I can to help you be happy here... but I don't think it could ever be enough."

Hitomi leaped from the bed to face her mother.

"Don't you think that's for me to decide, Mom? I've been through so much. I've seen so much death... Gaea was a world of war and strife for me. I can see things I don't want to see, and all around me there is only pain! How could I want to go back to that? How could I want to leave you and Yukari, and my life here? How could I want to leave the peace and quiet of home? Van is important to me, but I can still feel his pain every day! I was hoping in time it would fade, and it had begun to, but it's back, and it hurts! It hurts all the more because I don't know if I even can go back! Now you have planted the seed of being able to return and I don't know if I can. I don't know if it's possible. Yes! I want to go back to Van! Of course I do..." With that Hitomi broke completely. Everything she had been holding inside, all of her pain and hopes since the pillar of light had placed her on the front steps of the Kanzaki residence were spilling out.

Van was there with her. It was almost as clear as if he was in the room with her. His feelings were turbulent, but he seemed to be pushing the thought no matter what, I'll be waiting into her mind. Or was that just her imagination? Did she have a responsibility to him as well?

"Mother... I don't know if there's any way I can go back. I no longer have the pendant that connected me to Gaea... I don't know how..." Hitomi sat back down beside her mother, and leaned against her. Her mother put a comforting arm around her and held her tight.

"If all you say is true, if you can still feel Van's thoughts and feelings, like I could when you were away, then there must still be a connection between you and Gaea. Van is your connection. Maybe there is a way he can reach you."

Hitomi was exhausted by the flood of emotions, and possibilities. Her mother left her, and Hitomi cried silently into her pillow until she began to drift to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day. Yukari knew, her mother knew and, most important of all, Hitomi finally knew that she would not be staying on Earth forever. Van was waiting.

The following weeks and months passed with little disturbance. Hitomi finished the school year, and devoted all of her free time to discovering anything she could about Draconians and their connection to Earth. Even with the fate-alteration-machine destroyed, the ancient Draconian power of will still existed within all people of Earth, whether they knew it or not. Hitomi read everything she could about the lost city of Atlantis, but most of what she found was too far removed from what she knew to be true to be of any use. Yukari helped as much as she could, but she didn't have the knowledge and memories of Atlantis and the Draconians that Hitomi did.

Hitomi spent a lot of time with her mother as well, but never talked about her research or her attempts to return to Gaea if she could help it. While her mother was in support of her returning, and wished only happiness for her, Hitomi could see the pain in her mother's eyes any time the subject came up. She decided it was best to spend whatever time they had together in joy instead of sadness. Neither Hitomi nor her mother ever mentioned her intentions to the rest of the family.

As fall neared, Hitomi considered whether or not there was any reason for her to continue attending school. Her mother convinced her she should, since they had no way of knowing when Hitomi would find a way back, or if she ever would, and that it would be best if she was properly prepared for either outcome. Hitomi spent an increasing amount of time with her tarot cards, hoping they might lead her to an answer. For the first time in her memory her cards seemed to be telling her nothing. She got no visions from them, no dreams, and the readings themselves made no sense.

Since the fated conversation with her mother, Hitomi had felt very little from Van as well. She couldn't tell if it was because he was now contented to wait, or because their connection had somehow weakened. She tried many times to call to him, to request he come take her back. He was the one with both the pendant and energists after all, and he was the one that brought her back the last time, but she got no response to her plaintiff calls, not even a feeling. This worried her more than her lack of progress, or her lack of success with her tarot.

As time went on, as the school year began again and Hitomi was thrown back into normal life once more, she began feeling once again that all she had seen and experience had all just been a dream. She felt so little from Van that it was very easy to dismiss it as her imagination. The one thing she could not dismiss was the tight pain she felt in her chest. Other than that she didn't feel much of anything at all. She went through each day consciously trying to remember what the faces of her friends on Gaea looked like. It was as if her remembering meant that they still existed, that it wasn't all a dream, but her memories were fading despite her efforts.

All she had left of Gaea now was an emptiness, and the pain she felt when she thought of Van.

Hitomi's sixteenth birthday came and went. Yukari threw a small celebration in her honor. Hitomi did her best to appear appreciative and happy, but in her heart she just felt empty.

Even in her dreams Hitomi couldn't find solace. On one rare night she did dream of Gaea. It was dark, and a hot wind blew across the fields of Fanelia. It was like seeing Fanelia after Zaibach's first attack, only not as much of the city was destroyed. Hitomi saw what she thought might be dragons in the distance, and other large shapes moving on the horizon. Gaea at war? But the war was over. Hitomi stood in the center of the city. There was death and destruction all around. There was no sound, but she could see people in the distance running and screaming. She stood in Asturia and saw the palace in ruins. She stood in Zaibach and saw red on the horizon. There were large melefs, and strange creatures roaming the streets. The wind grew increasingly intense until finally Hitomi woke up.

What was she seeing? Was this a nightmare from her time on Gaea? Or was it a vision? Hitomi quickly got out of bed arranged her tarot cards. For the first time in many months Hitomi could feel a connection to her cards. Before even turning over the first card, Hitomi knew what she would find. The Tower. Destruction, turbulence. Was Gaea in trouble again? She had felt nothing from Van to indicate that Fanelia was in trouble. She was sure if any of this was real that she would have felt him if something was wrong. Perhaps it hadn't happened yet. Perhaps it never would. Perhaps this is the future if she were to return to Gaea. The pain twisted in Hitomi's chest. She could not bare the thought that her efforts to return to Gaea could cause such an outcome. Hitomi threw her cards aside.

Whatever happened now, Hitomi could not let Gaea fall to war again. It would not be her will that harmed that beautiful world. Why was pain the only thing she could feel now?

Each day after her dream Hitomi felt more and more distant from her everyday activities. She no longer cared about her homework or her performance on the track team. She couldn't feel Van at all most of the time. She would call out in her thoughts, but she never got any response. The world had become a colorless, tasteless remnant of what it once had been.

One morning Hitomi found herself on the roof of one of the buildings at her school. She had a note at her feet, placed delicately next to her shoes. She walked to the edge of the roof, just so her toes hung over the edge. Her socked feet could feel the breeze as it rushed up the wall and over the edge of the building.

"Mother was right. I don't belong here. But I can't get back there." She took a deep breath. The air smelled crisp, fall was coming. "Van, why don't you answer? Why can't I feel you anymore? Was it all just a dream? Am I just crazy?"

Hitomi inched her toes over the edge of the building. She curled them just a little bit as if she was holding on. "I don't want to cause anyone any more pain… I don't want to feel any more pain…"

Hitomi put her arms up and began to slowly allow herself to lean forward.

NOO!

"NOO!"

Hitomi stopped. That wasn't just the voice of Yukari… She felt it too. She felt it in her bones.

"Hitomi! What are you doing?!" Yukari rushed up behind Hitomi and pulled her back from the edge. "Don't you DARE scare me like that!"

Yukari hugged Hitomi for a moment, then let her go when she was sure it was safe. As she walked around she noticed the envelope sitting by Hitomi's shoes. Hitomi tried to prevent her from picking it up, but Yukari dodged her and snatched the note from the ground.

"My Dear Yukari, I don't belong here. Please forgive me. Goodbye." Yukari looked up at Hitomi. "Hitomi, you wouldn't really… please tell me this was just another attempt to get back to Gaea."

Hitomi looked at her feet. "I couldn't do it anyway… I think… I think Van wont let me."

"Yukari, I don't think I'll ever find a way… at this point I don't even know if I should. I've been having dreams."

"Dreams?"

"Of Gaea in ruins again… I'm worried that it's a premonition of what will happen if I return."

"And if you can't return… you can't go on here… Oh Hitomi, we'll find a way! I promise we'll find a way.. just…" Yukari had tears in her eyes, and her voice was shaking. Hitomi wished she could cry.

Hitomi quit the track team late in the fall. She found no more joy in it than she found in anything else, and it took precious time away from searching for a way back. Her dreams continued, but mercifully did not progress. She was afraid, however, that she was truly beginning to forget the faces of her friends. It had now been six months since Hitomi returned to earth. She could barely remember what the green hills of Fanelia smelled like, and she did not have any more information as to how she could return than she had when she first started her research.

Hitomi went with Yukari to school, sat through her classes, and rode the train with Yukari home. Yukari would talk about her days, about Amano, about track, about anything except the only thing that was on Hitomi's mind. Hitomi spent her evenings with her books about Atlantis.

One night she became so frustrated that she threw the book she was reading at the wall. "Van, why won't you help! Why can't I feel you at all! I miss you… I haven't felt you since…" Hitomi had heard him that day. She was sure of it. If it hadn't been for him she might actually have done it.

The idea struck her. Yukari had said it then, and she didn't even think about it. If she did it… if she jumped… Maybe… just maybe… that would be enough for Van to rescue her. It would be a desperate act, and it would only have two possible outcomes, but just maybe it would work. For the first time in several months, Hitomi no longer felt empty. She was filled with a deadly conviction. She couldn't do it from the school this time though, she needed to find someplace higher up. She needed to be sure.

Hitomi did not go to school the next day. Now that she had made her decision, she wasn't going to need school either way. Yukari noticed her absence and made her way to Hitomi's house immediately after track practice.

Yukari knocked on the front door.

The door opened to reveal Hitomi's mother. She seemed worried, but in relatively good spirits.

"Hello Yukari. Hitomi is in her room. She said she was ill this morning, but she has seemed more energetic and active than I have seen her in a long time. I'm glad you're here."

Yukari went upstairs to Hitomi's room and knocked. "Hitomi? Can I come in?"

Hitomi opened the door. There was definitely more life and conviction in her eyes than Yukari had seen recently. Something was definitely up, and Yukari had one guess as to what it was.

"Did you find a way?" She wanted to be happy for her friend, but her heart sank at the thought of losing her. She had no way of knowing how long Hitomi would be gone this time if she went back.

Hitomi didn't smile, she didn't even look particularly happy, but there was an intensity about her that made Yukari nervous. "I think I have… it's the only way I can think of."

Hitomi pulled Yukari into her room. "This weekend it will happen, one way or another. I know it. I can feel it."

"How?"

Hitomi looked Yukari straight in the eyes. Their gaze held for a moment, until Hitomi looked away. The intense passion was evident, but there was a sadness Yukari could see that hadn't been there until now. There was something else as well… fear.

"Hitomi… How?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not? I could help you!" Yukari was beginning to get scared herself.

"I can't tell you because… because you might try to stop me… because I don't want you to be there."

Now Yukari knew for sure they had a problem. Hitomi was going to try something crazy, and Yukari wasn't sure there was any way she would be able to stop her, or even if she should.

"I'm glad you're here Yukari. I wanted to get to talk to you before I go. I wanted to thank you. You've been the best friend anyone could have, and I've been awful…"

"You haven't, you've been a good friend, you've just been hurting."

"No… I've been distant and selfish and I have hurt you. If I don't go back I will hurt everyone around me. In Gaea my feelings brought pain and suffering in the form of violence and war, but I was also able to help. Here my presence only brings sadness and stagnation. I have to go. I just wanted you to know how much your friendship has meant to me. I will never forget you."

"Idiot! You're hurting me now! Let me help! Tell me what you plan to do! " Yukari began to cry.

"This is exactly what I mean… I can't do anything right anymore. For the first time, in a long time, I don't feel empty anymore… but if I stay the emptiness will come back. I'm leaving this weekend. I'm sorry Yukari. Don't tell my mother. When I disappear, she'll know why."

Yukari could tell there was nothing more to be said. She hugged Hitomi, then quickly got up and left.

Hitomi really was sorry. She hated to see the pain she was causing Yukari, but it couldn't be helped. She had made her decision, and steeled her conviction. All she had to do was get to the weekend. She returned to her desk and began to write a letter to her mother.

On Saturday morning, Yukari hid across the street from Hitomi's house. She had decided this was the only way. If Hitomi didn't go anywhere today, Yukari would wait again tomorrow. She only hoped she wasn't already too late.

The sun slowly moved across the sky. Minutes seemed like hours, and Yukari's sleepless night was catching up with her. Then she saw the door to Hitomi's house open.

Hitomi was dressed modestly in shorts and one of her old track T-Shirts. She had her old duffle bag, and it appeared to be very full. Hitomi looked quickly around and began on her way. Yukari made extra sure she couldn't be seen, and began to follow her friend.

Hitomi boarded the train that would take her to the city. Yukari boarded several doors down to make sure she wasn't seen, but still close enough to keep an eye on Hitomi.

The stop Hitomi exited on was in a part of town that Yukari was not as familiar with. It was near the factory district, but was far less populated. There were many abandoned buildings, and only a few people wandering the streets. The ones that were out and about did not seem like the sort one would want to meet alone. Yukari tried to keep a little closer to Hitomi just in case.

Hitomi entered one of the older buildings. Yukari followed.

The building was quiet and the floorboards were old, so Yukari had to keep farther behind to prevent herself from being discovered. Hitomi headed for the stairs. Yukari continued to follow her as quietly as possible.

Up one floor, two, three… they climbed all the way to the 10th floor of the old building. At this level some old renovations had been abandoned in the middle of work. There were large sections of the wall that had yet to be replaced, and old scaffolding that still clung to the outside of the building. The early afternoon sun scattered shadows all along the floor and against the walls of the open space. Hitomi slowly walked out towards one of the openings in the walls. She set her bag down and crouched for a moment, with her back to Yukari, and her arms around her legs. She seemed like she may be crying.

Yukari didn't know what to do. Hitomi stood up again, shouldered her duffle and walked toward the edge.

At that moment, Yukari knew exactly what Hitomi was planning to do. She shot out from the stairwell.

"Hitomi!" Hitomi spun around at the ledge to face the sound.

"Yukari…. Yukari what are you doing here?!" She looked stunned.

"I had to know! I wanted to help… Hitomi, don't do this! If it doesn't work…"

"I know…" The two girls were silent for a moment.

"Why…?" Yukari could barely speak. Her throat had begun to close up with the effort of not crying.

"It's the only way I could think of. The last time I tried… was really just to end it all… but… when you stopped me, you weren't the only one. I heard Van. It was the only time in a long time I heard Van. It was proof he could still feel me…" Hitomi paused. Her voice was shaking. " I thought… no, I know… If I do this, either he feels it and he comes for me, or…" Hitomi didn't have to end her sentence. Both girls knew exactly what came after "or".

There was nothing for Yukari to say. She knew her friend well enough to know her conviction.

"Say goodbye to Amano for me. You two were really the only people I could talk to. You were the only people who could understand." Hitomi took a couple steps backwards towards the ledge.

"Hitomi!" Yukari reached out, but there was nothing she could think to do. There was no way she would reach the ledge in time to stop her. How could this be happening?

Hitomi looked at Yukari through sad eyes. Please Van.. come for me. Hear me. If there was ever a time I needed you to really hear me… this is it. Hitomi stepped backwards. She could feel the edge of the ledge under her heel. This was it. No turning back. She steadied herself, and solidified her resolve. She put her arms around her duffle and held it tightly against her. Yukari was reaching out to her. Hitomi could see tears streaming down her friend's cheeks. She could feel a trickle running down her own face. She couldn't hear anything though. It was as if the world was holding its breath. Van…

"I love you Yukari."

Hitomi let herself fall backwards.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hitomi felt the air rushing past her ears. For the first time since deciding to jump, Hitomi was truly scared. Van… please. She held her eyes closed as she plummeted towards the cement below. What if Van really couldn't hear her. What if he did, but couldn't come? She hadn't thought about that possibility before. The pain it would cause Van to know what she had done… Well it was too late now. Hitomi opened her eyes to see the ground coming up to meet her. She thought suddenly about how funny it felt, as if she was falling up towards a ceiling, instead of down towards the ground. Hitomi was only a number of feet from the ground. This is it. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable impact. Van…

Yukari screamed as her friend fell backwards from the ledge. She rushed to the wall and was able to see Hitomi falling towards the street below. It happened so fast that Yukari wasn't sure what happened at first. Hitomi was almost at the ground, and then…

There was a bright flash of light right where Hitomi was. The air all around it seemed to ripple, then a pillar of light shot down from the sky, and just as suddenly it was gone.

Yukari looked down at the ground, terrified of what she might see.

Hitomi wasn't there. There was no broken body, there was no blood. There was no one there at all.

Yukari couldn't contain herself. Joy welled up inside her, and she jumped in the air and did a small victory dance on the ledge.

"Yata! You did it Hitomi!" Yukari's hand dropped to her side. Her face became somber once again, but with a glow of happiness. "I love you too Hitomi. I hope you find what you're looking for"

Hitomi could feel grass underneath her. Her eyes were still closed, but the light coming through her eyelids seemed a lot brighter than it had a moment before. The air was warmer as well.

She opened her eyes.

She was on a grassy hill with trees in the distance. She was alone.

I made it… Hitomi began to check herself for possible injuries. But where is Van… was he even the one who brought me here? She couldn't feel him in her mind anymore than she could on Earth. She checked her duffle bag to make sure the contents were intact. When she unzipped it she found the photo of Yukari she had packet on the very top. "I'm sorry Yukari…"

The breeze lifted the hair from the back of her neck. The smell of Gaea… It felt like coming home. The grass was soft beneath Hitomi's fingers, and she could hear the sound of strange but familiar birds in the distance. It's like I've just woken up from a dream.

Hitomi stood up on the hill and looked around. There were trees in all directions, but no landmarks to give her any idea where she was. She waited for a little while as the wind lifted strands of her hair. It was good to be back. Hitomi saw movement near the distant trees. She crouched so she would be harder to see. Even with Gaea at peace, there was no way of knowing whether anyone she happened to run in to would be friend or foe.

The person coming out of the woods seemed to be pushing a small cart. It appeared to Hitomi to be laden with wood. Hitomi tried to move around the hill to get a better view.

The person had the head of an animal, somewhat like a dog, with a crest of fur that trailed down his spine. He pushed his wooden cart along the treeline until he reached an opening that Hitomi had not seen before. Hitomi decided to follow but at a distance. At least if she could find some kind of civilization she could ask where she was.

The trail was small, probably only used by locals. It was darker under the tree cover, and the smell of sap was strong. After a little while the dog person seemed to be slowing down. He stopped to sniff the air a few times.

"Okay, who's there?" He turned quickly and looked almost directly at Hitomi, though she had ducked behind a tree. "I don't want any trouble. I don't have any money if that's what you're after". He seemed more frightened than anything. It would probably be worse if she tried to remain hidden.

Hitomi stepped out from behind the tree.

"I'm sorry… I was just trying to find my way into town." Hitomi stood still, waiting for a reply.

The dog person visibly relaxed. "I'm glad… we've been hearing rumors… you don't look dangerous to me. You can follow. It's not far to the wall."

The two travellers continued to walk in silence for some time.

"I'm sorry if I scared you young lady. You can't be too careful these days. With such odd rumors about, it's not safe to be outside of the gates. No one leaves except for necessities, such as this firewood I carry."

The image of a ruined Fanelia came unbidden into Hitomi's mind.

"Isn't the war over? What is there to be careful about?"

"Oh the war with Zaibach is long over, but recently… there are rumors. I heard people have been disappearing. "

Hitomi stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… people leave the walls of Fanelia, and don't always come back, especially young ones."

Hitomi's apprehension and worry vanished. "We're near Fanelia?"

"Of course! That's where I'm headed."

Hitomi began to smile. She did come back near Fanelia, so Van must have been the one to bring her back. For the first time since she left Gaea, she began to fill with joy again. The tight knot that had filled her chest for so long was beginning to loosen.

The gates of Fanelia were tall and majestic. They were newly carved with pictures of dragons around the outer edges. The guard at the lookout tower greeted Hitomi's travelling companion and called down for the gate to be opened. Once they were through the door, there was a set of guards waiting.

"Halt, Jakana." The head of the guard stepped forward from the crowd.

"What is this, sir? Did I do something wrong?" The dog man seemed confused.

"Who is this you travel with?" The guard indicated Hitomi.

"A girl I met in the clearing when collecting wood. She said she needed to find Fanelia. I'm sorry, I didn't ask her name."

The guard turned to Hitomi. He was a tall man, wearing chest armor and a helmet. "What is your business in Fanelia. Where have you come from."

"I..umm…" Hitomi could hear muttering among the growing crowd.

"Jakana, didn't you think it was strange to find a girl alone in the clearing? She could be a spy. Stephen, escort her to the main compound. We'll question her there."

The guard who was identified as Stephen stepped forward and gently took Hitomi by the arm. "Come with me please." A few of the other guards fell in formation behind Stephen as they made their way through the streets to the main compound.

Once inside, Hitomi was asked to sit in a chair, and her bag was removed from her possession and placed on a nearby table.

The head of the guard arrived shortly after and stood in front of Hitomi, glaring.

"We don't get many strangers here. What is your name"

"Hitomi Kanzaki."

"Where are you from."

"Umm… That is a little complicated sir."

"Why? Does it have something to do with the odd clothing you wear? I've never seen anything like it."

Hitomi was becoming more and more anxious. She hadn't been gone that long, surely someone would recognize her. She started to worry that maybe it had been longer in Fanelia since she had been back than it had been for her. Gaea wasn't always in temporal sync with Earth.

"I asked you a question girl." He was beginning to get more stern.

"I.. I'm sorry, I can't answer that question." Hitomi was becoming more fearful. If they didn't remember her, would they even believe her if she told them where she came from? They certainly wouldn't believe that she knew Van, not coming in through the front gate with a commoner, and in such strange clothes.

"Can't… or won't." The guard turned his back on her for a moment, then turned around with a raised hand.

At that moment the door to the compound opened and a man in a generals uniform walked in.

"Captain, stop." He was a big man with a big mustache. Hitomi didn't recognize him, but knew from his uniform that he would have come from the palace. She felt a small amount of relief.

"Sir, I was just about to begin the interrogation. She could be a spy…"

"Captain, you are trying my patience. Always wait for orders before beginning a physical interrogation. This girl is not a spy. She was expected. I came as soon as I heard the description of her clothing. Now turn her and her belongings over to me at once!" His voice was calm, but the anger in it could not be ignored. The other guards in the room immediately scrambled to help Hitomi up from the chair, and deliver her duffle to the General. The General then lead Hitomi back outside into the bustle of Fanelia, and up the main road to the palace of Fanelia.

"You will be housed in one of the guest rooms in the palace until the King calls for an audience. He is a busy man, so there is no telling how long that will be. Stay out of trouble. Do not leave the palace grounds. If you need anything just ask. You are to be treated as a guest of the King, as such you have access to all the amenities the palace has to offer." By the time he had finished, they were in the main yard of the palace, and there was a handmaiden waiting to take the duffle bag. "Do you have any questions?"

"Van knows I'm here?"

"The King has been made aware of your arrival. I would refrain from speaking of him so informally, however. He is to be addressed as His Highness, King of Fanelia, unless such time as you are instructed to do otherwise by the King himself. Margery, please escort the Lady Hitomi to her guest quarters." The General turned and left the main yard.

"Alright then, Lady Hitomi, please follow me." Margery was a thin woman, dressed in a handmaidens dress, with her hair braided and pinned to her head. She was older than Hitomi, but only by a few years by Hitomi's estimation. Hitomi followed her through the halls of the palace until they stopped in front of a modest door.

"This is where you will be staying my Lady. The wash room is down the hall…" Margery gestured to her left, where they had come from. "If you need anything, there will always be someone near, so ring the bell that is in your room and someone will come." Margery opened the door to the room and motioned for Hitomi to enter. "Dinner will be served at sun down. It is not likely that his Majesty will have time for a court dinner, so your meal will be served to Fanelia." The handmaiden turned and left.

Hitomi looked around her room. It looked very similar to the one she occupied before she left, but it was in a different part of the palace. Much of the palace had been rebuilt as well. As she followed Margery through the halls, Hitomi had seen many parts of the palace that were new to her. Hitomi walked to the other side of the room and gazed out her window. Her room was on the front of the palace, so she had a full view of the valley that contained the kingdom of Fanelia. It really was beautiful. Hitomi hadn't had much time since finding herself in the field to think about what she would do now that she was back.

She had hoped that Van would be here to meet her. She had imagined it over and over once she had decided to come back. She would return to Gaea somehow, most likely by Van bringing her back, and they would be reunited. She would find herself in Van's arms, and everything would be as it was before she left. So far, reality had not catered to her imagination. How long had it been in Gaea since she had left? She had hoped that it only would have been six months, just as it had been for her, but she was beginning to worry that it had been much longer… How old would Van be now?

Hitomi began to think about how little she had felt from Van over the last few months. Could it have been because their time was out of sync? Was he all grown? The general sure talked about him like he was. Van was too busy for a court dinner… she had to refer to him as His Majesty… It was all so strange to her.

There was a knock at the door. Hitomi noticed how far the sun had dipped on the horizon. Sunset already. Hitomi went to the door.

There was a man carrying a tray of food. It held rice, pickles, and some kind of meat that Hitomi couldn't immediately recognize. "Thank you." She accepted the tray, and the man bowed and left.

Hitomi found a table in one corner of her room and she ate her food in silence. She had not expected to be lonely once she finally got back to Gaea. She finished her food and climbed into bed, worried about what the next day might bring.

Hitomi awoke to a knock at her door. It took Hitomi a moment as she woke up to remember where she was. She rolled out of the large bed and went to the door.

Margery was at the door with a rack of clothes behind her. "Pardon me, my Lady, I was instructed to bring you some more suitable clothes for your stay. You are to try on and find a few that fit properly. I will be back later today to collect the ones you do not want."

"Okay."

Hitomi stepped out of the way and Margery wheeled the rack of clothing into Hitomi's room.

"Breakfast will be served in an hour, I will be back to collect the rest at that time." Margery left Hitomi with the rack of clothing.

Hitomi only found four dresses among the rack that fit her properly and didn't look ridiculous. She placed the rest on the rack and waited for her handmaiden's return. The rest of the day was uneventful. After breakfast, there were two more meals brought directly to her room. Hitomi was not summoned, and while no one prevented her from leaving her room, she didn't really feel like wandering yet. So far the once familiar palace of Fanelia felt completely foreign. Had she made a mistake coming back?

She lay on the bed after dinner wondering if Van had ordered the clothes for her, and what was keeping him so busy. There was a noise at her window.

"Hitomi! It is you!"

Suddenly Hitomi was wrapped in the arms of a familiar friend who was purring loudly.

"Merle, no claws!" Hitomi was smiling as she pulled Merle's paws from her back.

"I heard they found a girl in the woods, and that she wore funny clothes, and I knew it must be you, but no one would tell me! I'm so glad you're back! Maybe now things will get better." Merle sat back on her heels on the bed and looked at Hitomi.

"What do you mean, things will get better?" Hitomi began to worry again.

"Don't you know? Lord Van has been so busy… He's in meeting after meeting with his advisors, and I've seen people coming into the city from other parts of Gaea. Lord Van wont tell me anything, but we've all heard the rumors. People disappear. Something is happening in Gaea, and it's troubling Lord Van…"

"Merle… How long has it been since…"

"Since you left Lord Van?" Merle said this with a sneer. Hitomi thought Merle would have been happy to have Van all to herself again. "It's been over a year. I was beginning to think you might never come back. I don't think Lord Van thought you would come back at all. He has been so serious ever since you've been gone. He doesn't do anything but work. I hoped if you came back… but it isn't better yet. In fact he's busier and more serious than ever."

Hitomi was relieved to hear that only a year had passed. She had had dreams the night before of finally getting to see Van and finding out that he had aged many years. It was good to know that that was not so. But then… why had he not yet come to see her?

"What is he so busy with Merle, what has been happening?"

"Well… after the war was over and you left him, he was busy overseeing the rebuilding of Fanelia. It took a long time before most of the people came back, which meant it was slow at the beginning. I'm sure you noticed all the new parts of the palace. I'll have to show you some more of it tomorrow. Anyway, everything was fine for a while. Gaea was finally at peace. There was still petty crime and stuff, but everything was okay and Fanelia was rebuilt. BUT then we started hearing rumors."

"The villager I followed back here mentioned rumors or people disappearing…"

"Yeah. It started a few months ago. We heard about children disappearing in Freid. There were no bodies or anything, and no one ever saw who took them, they just disappear. We heard rumors from Asturia as well, children were taken from outside their gates. That was when Lord Van gave the order to bring everyone inside the gates of the city." Merle sat wide eyed across from Hitomi, flicking her tail back and forth.

"Do they have any idea who is taking the children?"

"Lord Van has an idea. Zaibach. Just because Dornkirk was destroyed doesn't mean the rest of Zaibach couldn't keep going. They have sealed their borders. No one goes in or comes out, or so it seems. Lord Van thinks they are stealing the children for some reason, but I don't think he has any ideas about why. This is all he's told me in the rare times we are alone. It seems there is always some advisor around now, and there are visitors from the other kingdoms all the time now to talk about the troubles."

Hitomi and Merle sat in silence for a moment.

"Merle… do you know what he hasn't come to see me yet?"

Merle's tail twitched. "No. I don't. I haven't seen him either since you got here." There was another pause.

"Hitomi… make things better again. Like they were before you left. Like when we had a family." With that she hopped of the bed and out the window.

When we were a family? Hitomi was too tired to think about it. Zaibach was sealed off? They were stealing children? The images from Hitomi's dream flashed through her mind. The dream must have been a premonition than. She would have to stop it from coming true. She would not let war tear Gaea apart again. This was her home.

The following day Hitomi decided it was time she explore the palace. Merle found her as she was wandering one of the southern halls. Fanelia palace wasn't as extravagant as the palace of Asturia or Freid, but it wasn't small either. Merle showed her the new gardens, and the new ball room, as well as the new training fields, and the melef storage facilities. Along with the rebuild of the palace, they had rebuilt all of the melefs that had been lost in the war, and had built ten new ones to increase Fanelia's defensive power, especially after the rumors about Zaibach began.

Their last stop in the tour of the palace was the resting place of Escaflowne. it had been placed as the centerpiece in the dragon temple at the center of the palace. This was sacred space. Escaflowne's energist was dark, and motionless, just as Van had wanted it, just as Hitomi had seen it the day she left. It seemed odd to see it displayed as an ornament or museum statue.

Hitomi knelt before it impulsively. Escaflowne was the divine protector of Fanelia after all. It deserved the respect of any divine being. Hitomi lowered her eyes and silently thanked Escaflowne for all it had done for her and for Van in the war with Zaibach. Thank you for preserving Van's life.

On their way back to Hitomi's room a procession passed in one of the cross halls. Guards were placed on either side of the hall preventing Hitomi and Merle from crossing.

"This happens sometimes. Officials get priority when they travel through the palace." Merle twitched her tail as the officials began to pass. Hitomi got the impression that Merle was not fond of the officials.

The procession was fairly long and included a number of guards and people in royal colors from around Gaea. Hitomi recognized the colors of Basram as well as Asturia. Near the end of the procession the number of guards thickened. Hitomi was curious who would be so important when she saw him. Van was at the center of the knot of guards. He was dressed far more lavishly than she had ever seen, dressed in the royal colors of Fanelia. He looked as serious as he had when she first met him. He also looked older. He was definitely a little bit taller. Hitomi wanted to call out, to shout to him. She wanted desperately to get his attention, but her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't make any sound come out.

Van's eyes met hers. Hitomi's breath caught in her chest. She couldn't move.

The procession moved on, and Van was gone.

Hitomi lost the strength in her knees and found herself on the floor.

"Hitomi, are you okay?"

The knot was back in Hitomi's chest. Van was right there, and she couldn't even speak. It had only been six months, but for him it was a year… his face looked older.

"Hitomi?"

"I'm… okay. I think I need to lay down."

Merle helped Hitomi up and escorted her back to her room.

Hitomi spent the rest of her evening in bed. She wasn't even thinking much, but she didn't have the will to do anything else. She kept imagining the look in Van's eyes when his gaze met hers. It was so serious. She didn't have any idea what he was feeling. She couldn't feel him at all, and she couldn't tell anything from his expression. Hitomi didn't know what to think. The knot in her chest churned and twisted. Her sleep that night was not restful.

The next morning right after breakfast, a man in fancier dress than most of the palace personnel informed Hitomi that she was to appear in court that afternoon. She was to dress appropriately, which she took to mean she was supposed to wear one of the dresses that had been provided for her, instead of her own clothes.

Merle came in through her window as Hitomi was trying to pick a dress.

"Mrrow?"

"Merle, I've been summoned to appear in court."

"All right! Van finally called for you!" Merle bounced around the bed with excitement.

"I guess so…" Hitomi was looking at three possible dresses. She was incredibly nervous. After the encounter on the previous day, she wasn't sure what to expect. She was hoping Van would just come to see her. A court appearance seemed so… formal. " I don't know how I feel about meeting him in front of the court. I don't know what to think.."

Merle calmed down and sat down on one of the three dresses.

"Wear this one. It's pretty." The dress Merle chose was the green one with white collar and long skirt. It was simple, but Merle was right, it was pretty. Hitomi changed into it and stood in front of the mirror in the closet. Merle stood behind her. "It looks nice on you… here… let me comb your hair."

Hitomi sat down on the bed and Merle climbed up behind her and began to comb through her hair with a comb that had been placed on the side table. "Your hair is longer than I remember."

"I didn't think about cutting it after deciding to come back. I guess I just forgot." Her hair wasn't that much longer, but it had grown beyond her ears, and fell over her eyes some.

"It will be okay, Hitomi. If there is anyone Lord Van would ever want to see, it's you."

There was a knock a the door, and Merle ran over to open it.

"Hello Miss Merle. I'm here to escort Lady Hitomi to court." The servant was a tall man with dark hair. He was dressed in the same fancy dress as the man who delivered the message that morning.

"I guess I'm ready." Hitomi followed the man down the hall.

The court room was fairly large, with guards posted along the walls, and a number of commoners on one side, and a panel of representatives from other kingdoms on the other side.

"Hitomi Kanzaki, of the Mystic Moon." Hitomi was startled by the shout as she entered the room. She settled when she realized it was the customary announcement of her entrance. The servant nudged her forward. There was a long carpet that lead all the way up to a throne at the back of the room. Van sat in the throne with a cape around his shoulders and a circlet around his forehead. It was a strange sight for Hitomi to see. She never pictured Van as someone who would rule his kingdom from a throne.

She slowly walked down the carpet. She could feel all eyes on her. She stopped a number of feet in front of the throne and knelt.

"Your Majesty."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hitomi Kanzaki." Van began to speak, projecting his voice so that the whole court could hear. "I officially welcome you as a guest of the King to the bountiful city of Fanelia. As you may have heard since your arrival, there has been unrest in the realm, and therefore the customary tour of the countryside will have to be postponed. In addition, as a guest of the King, you will be granted a personal guard both while you are in the palace, and in the city. Talo, Stephan, I am assigning you as Lady Hitomi's personal guard. See that she remains safe within the walls of Fanelia."

Talo and Stephen both stepped forward from the ranks of guards around the perimeter of the court as their names were called. "Your Majesty. We will guard her with our lives."

Van continued. "According to tradition, there will be a welcome feast for our guest tomorrow night. All guests and officials currently residing in the palace are expected to attend. This completes the court reception. Lady Hitomi will remain, but the rest of the court is dismissed. Guards, please wait outside the doors to the hall."

Hitomi felt her stomach clench. Van wanted to see her alone. Finally. Hitomi let herself hope. Van had been nothing but formal and serious during court, but maybe… maybe that was just because he had to be. Maybe now they could reunite properly. When she left Gaea, he had allowed her to go afterall. He was the one who activated the energist to send her home. She hadn't left him, he had let her go. Hitomi stared at the floor, the knot in her stomach continuing to grow. Maybe he had let her go for a reason… maybe he didn't want her back…

After the last guard left, Van stood. He unclasped the cape from around his shoulders and let it fall onto the throne. "Hitomi…"

Hitomi looked up. Their eyes locked. Hitomi found it hard to breath. She could almost feel Van. There was pain, and a little regret. And there was fear. She wasn't sure if it was her fear now.

"Hitomi… why did you do it?" Van's voice cracked as he spoke.

"What?"

"Why… you didn't need to come back…"

The agitation in Hitomi's stomach rose. "What… what do you mean? Of course I did."

"You were supposed to live happily, and grow old, safe… safe in your own world."

"Van, I could not live happily. It was not like you said… I couldn't stay there. That's not my home anymore. I didn't belong.. everyone knew it… Yukari… my mother…"

"You shouldn't have come back!" Van advanced on her now. He approached until he was right in front of her. "It's dangerous! Zaibach is making trouble again, people are disappearing… It's not safe for you to be back!"

Hitomi couldn't take it any more. The churning in her stomach became a knot in her throat. She couldn't hold the tears back from her eyes.

"Hitomi, why did you do it… if you hadn't… if you didn't try to… That's the only reason I pulled you here. Hitomi, how could you do something like that!"

"Because I couldn't bare to stay there either way! I was miserable, Van! I didn't care if I died, as long as I had some chance of getting back here, okay?" This was all wrong… she had wanted to come back so much, and now they were just yelling at each other. What could she do? "I was miserable! It wasn't like you said. we couldn't see each other any time. I couldn't feel you! At first… yes… it was as you said. But then it stopped! You weren't there! I was alone, and there was no one who could understand. There was no one who knew Gaea. Yukari believed me but… but she doesn't know, she couldn't really understand! I was alone, Van. I would have rather died than stay there!"

Van stepped back, shocked. "It was too painful…"

"What?"

"I thought… it was too painful. You hurt so much… I could feel it. Everyday. I hurt too… I hurt a lot… and it was adding to your pain. I thought…"

Hitomi was worried now… what was Van trying to say? She had thought it then, that some of what she was feeling was Van's pain.

"I thought… that if I started to let go… if I started to let you go live your life… that you could be happy. What kind of life can someone have always feeling someone else's pain? I thought you might be able to forget… a little."

He had pulled away. That was why she couldn't feel him anymore… He had left her alone intentionally. "But you promised me…" He had left her. He didn't want her to come back. Hitomi stepped back. "You promised me… we would still be close… how could you…?"

"How could you try to kill yourself?!"

That was enough. Hitomi turned around and ran from the hall.

"Hitomiiii!"

She pushed the heavy door open and rushed passed her two guards, headed for her room. The sky had darkened outside, though it was not yet late. She had tears streaming down her face. As it began to rain, she thought it was appropriate that Gaea should cry with her.

She burst into her room and threw herself on her bed. How could he? He left her alone? He pulled his feelings away. He had been her only connection back to Gaea… maybe if he hadn't left her alone, she would have been okay. Maybe if they had faded over years she would have been okay, but he had abandoned her, and he had done it intentionally. But… he did it for her. He did it to protect her from his own pain… Did he have that much pain? If he did, why was he so upset she was back?

Hitomi heard a noise at the window. Merle leaped onto the bed and licked Hitomi's hand.

"What's wrong? You got to see Van, right?"

"I don't know… he yelled… we yelled."

"He yelled at you? Ooooo...I'm gonna go give him a piece of…" As Merle was turning to go seek revenge, Hitomi grabbed her tail, preventing her from leaving.

"Merle, don't…. we both yelled… Things aren't good… He abandoned me."

"He what?"

"When I left, he promised that we would still be close, as long as our thoughts could reach each other… but… but he held back his thoughts, his feelings. He stopped. He left me alone. I knew there had to be some reason I couldn't feel him anymore… but I never thought… I never thought he did it intentionally."

"Ohhh."

The rain was coming down harder now. The rhythm it beat on the roof had a soothing effect on Hitomi.

"Merle… please go. I just want to sleep."

"Okay Hitomi, but I will be back first thing in the morning to pounce on you." Merle hopped from the bed, ran to the door, and left.

Hitomi buried her face in her pillow and cried herself to sleep.

Merle found Van pacing back and forth in his rooms. This was the first time she had managed to find time alone with him since a while before Hitomi arrived. He was no longer garbed as the king of Fanelia, but as just Van, the boy who had cared for her and protected her since she lost her family. Over the past year he had been gloomy most days, and downright morose others, but this was the first time in a long time that Merle had seen him so troubled.

As Merle moved into the room, she bumped the side table that was next to the door. Van struck his ready stance instantaneously.

"Who's there! Oh… It's you, Merle." Van relaxed somewhat and continued his pacing.

"Van…" Merle moved to the other side of Van and settled herself on the end of his bed.

Van paced a few more times, then on the last time when he reached the wall he pulled his arm back and punched the wall fiercely. "Aaaaaaarg!" He leaned his forehead against the wall, then pushed himself away from it and ran his hand through his hair in an exasperated manor. He turned back to the bed and plopped himself down beside Merle.

"Are you alright, my Lord?" Merle's tail twitched. She wasn't entirely sure what to say.

"No… No Merle, I'm not. I handled that all wrong." Van lay back on the bed, and put his arms behind it head for support. " How could she have done that though? I can't believe that pulling away was enough to drive her to that…"

"To what?"

"Did she tell you how she got here?"

"No."

"She jumped off a building. If I had been unable to call her back she would have… she couldn't have known I would be able to, which means she was ready to die. She was willing to throw away her life."

Merle studied her paws in her lap for a moment. "But… now she knows you left her alone on purpose. She told me a little while ago that you abandoned her."

"Yeah… Merle, how do I make her understand why I did it? I didn't want to hurt her, I wanted her to hurt less… It's been a year, and still every single day I could feel it in my bones that she was not here. I could not force those feelings on her. Now she's here, and it's only worse. I don't care how much she wanted to come back, how could she have risked her life to do it? How can I forgive that?"

"You should talk to her."

"I just tried that."

"You should apologize."

Van sighed heavily. "I will have to think more about what to say. I don't have to do this very often you know… there are so many scripts and things I'm expected to say with officials and royal guests everyday. It's like everything I have to say is laid out for me ahead of time. I don't know how to do this." Van sat up and heaved another heavy sigh.

"I don't know either, Lord Van, but I think you'll be able to figure it out. You have to."

Morning came too soon for Hitomi. She was awoken by a flying cat girl, as promised.

"Today is a new day Hitomi! You will see, everything will be just fine." Merle pranced around the bed.

Hitomi sat up and rubbed her fists in her eyes to try and get out the sleep she couldn't shake. She yawned deeply, then lay back down and rolled over.

"Oh no you don't. Today is a big day. The welcome feast is tonight. You need to clean yourself and wear something pretty. I already ordered a bath for you, it should be ready soon. Up, up, up!"

Hitomi had never known Merle to be enthusiastic about a bath. She supposed it was different if it wasn't her own. Hitomi sat up again, and yawned. She began to remember the events from the night before and her chest tightened. She clutched the sheets to her breast. Van had meant to abandon her.

"Today is a new day Hitomi, no moping. You'll see, everything will turn out just fine." Merle ripped the sheets out of Hitomi's grasp and sent them flying across the room.

"Hey!" Hitomi scrambled after her pilfered sheets. Once she was standing, Merle tossed a wad of cloth at her.

"Put this on to go to the washroom. I think they already have clothes for you there for when you are done. I will see you at the feast!" With that, Merle rushed out the door.

Hitomi unfurled the bundle of fabric to reveal that it was a long robe. The fabric was soft, and the pattern was delicate. She shouldered it on and fastened the belt around her waist. This feast was going to be strange. She would have to present a polite face to Van in front of everyone. After last night, that was going to be difficult. she felt bad for running out, but she just couldn't have taken any more of it. she had waited so long, and and almost given up so much just to see him again, only to find out that he had left her on purpose. She felt sour inside. It hurt the most to know that above all, he hadn't kept his promise. It was the only promise that ever mattered.

Hitomi couldn't hold back the tears, and they streamed openly down her face. How was she supposed to go on? How was she going to fix this? She couldn't go home, Gaea was her home now… but was it still her home without Van? She pulled her door open and stepped out into the hall. Her two guards were posted on either side of the door. They followed her as she walked down the hall to the washroom, stopping outside to guard the entrance.

Inside, there were three women in handmaidens dress around a tub of steaming water. There were various glass bottles on tables around the bath.

"Come in Lady Kanzaki. The bath is ready, please remove your robe." The handmaiden who spoke was an older woman with grey hair and many years worth of lines etched into her face. The lines told a story of hard work, but with happiness. One of the other handmaidens, who appeared to be a number of years younger, approached Hitomi.

Hitomi unbuckled the belt and shyly removed the robe from her shoulders.

"Don't worry, it's only we women here. The guards know to stay outside. No one will bother you." The younger maiden received the robe from Hitomi and placed it on a rack near the bath. She took Hitomi by the hand and helped her up the wooden steps and into the steaming bath. Hitomi was thankful that no one commented on the tears on her face or the red of her eyes.

The water felt nice. It was just almost too hot, but cool enough that she was able to settle in without too much trouble. She dipped her head back in the water to wet her hair, and when she lifted her head back up she felt hands begin to massage her scalp. The older woman was washing her hair.

The youngest of the women, who had not yet spoken, sat down on a bench on the side of the tub. "Please give me your left hand my lady." Hitomi raised her hand from the water and placed in in the palm of the young woman's outstretched hand. She began to clean her nails and trim them with small scissors.

"This is like the spa back home." Hitomi had been to the spa a few times, but it wasn't something she and her friends could often afford.

"I'm not sure what a 'spa' is, but in Gaea this is how ladies are prepared for special occasions." The young woman continued to clip and buff Hitomi's nails until they were shiny and even. The other young woman pulled a bench to the other side and began work on Hitomi's right hand. The older woman motioned for her to dip her head back in the water and began rinsing the sweet smelling soap out. Hitomi almost felt like the troubles of the previous evening were being washed out with the soap. She could feel herself beginning to drift into sleep when the older woman told her to climb out of the bath. One of the younger women handed her a towel and she wrapped it around herself. The other younger woman picked up one of the many bottles from the tables and tipped a small amount into her hand. She began to rub it into Hitomi's shoulders. It smelled like lilacs.

The dress they presented to Hitomi was beautiful. It was a medium shade of rose with a string of beads that served to hold the dress up around her neck. The sleeves draped over her arms and flowed like water. "Thank you…"

"Don't thank us, this was sent here for you from His Highness the King."

Hitomi admired herself in the mirror, then slipped her feet into the soft black slippers that had been provided for her. Van sent the dress. Was this an apology? Or did he just want her to be presentable in front of the nobles that would be attending? "How long until the feast?"

The older woman placed a garland strung with beads and flowers on to Hitomi's head. " It won't be long now. The introduction portion will be starting soon. The feast itself will be served a little while later. The guard that waits outside the doors will guide you to the hall in which the feast will be held when we are done here."

Hitomi was presented with bracelets to choose from, and was fitted with a beaded belt around her waist that met in the middle in front and hung straight down almost to her feet. She had never worn such elegant clothing, not even in Asturia.

"You look like a princess my lady."

Hitomi looked in the mirror and admired the ladies' work. She hoped Van would be happy with the way the dress looked on her. Thinking of Van returned her mind to the previous night. She wondered what would happen tonight. This time, she wouldn't yell, even if he did. She didn't want to fight. She wanted everything to be like it was before she left. She wouldn't yell this time, and she wouldn't run, no matter how much his words hurt her.

Hitomi went to the door. The guards were waiting on the other side with their backs to the door. Hitomi stepped out in front of them. "I'm ready."

"You look absolutely lovely my lady." The guard that had been identified as Talo bowed his head to her. "If you will follow me, we will lead you to the hall of the feast." He started out down the corridor, with Hitomi close behind. Stephen stayed several paces behind Hitomi. She assumed this was so that he could keep a watchful eye on their procession. Talo lead them deep into the palace until he stopped in front of a very large set of double doors. There was a man in a wide floppy hat and fancy jacket standing in front of the doors. Talo introduced Hitomi. "We present the Lady Hitomi Kanzaki."

"Alright, this way." The man opened the door inwards. Despite it's size it didn't seem take a lot of effort to move, and it slid open without making a sound. He stopped just inside the door. Hitomi could see past him into the room where many people were already milling about in long dresses and formal suits. The door man began to project his voice above the murmur of the crowd. "Presenting the Lady Hitomi Kanzaki, Ambassador from the Mystic Moon."

Hitomi was startled by the title. She had not expected to have a title, let alone have to act as ambassador for a world shrouded in myth. There were surprised sounds from the gallery as well. Hitomi had a feeling she would have a lot more questions to answer at this feast than she currently wanted.

The door man stepped to the side and Hitomi entered the hall timidly. She didn't see anyone she knew. She hadn't met many people from outside Fanelia on her last journey through Gaea, and of the ones she had, only some remained after the war. She wouldn't know any of the other ambassadors, and she didn't know any of Fanelia's officials. Well, Hitomi supposed that was what feasts like these were for.

Merle noticed Hitomi from the other side of the hall and came bounding through the crowd. She was wearing a longer dress than usual, with flowers in her hair, and a beaded necklace. "Merle, I don't think I've ever seen you so dressed up."

"I love dressing up for Lord Van's parties. Everyone looks so pretty, and there are flowers everywhere! These are my favorite parties!" Merle twirled in place to show Hitomi her whole outfit. "You look very beautiful tonight Hitomi. Van will be impressed."

Hitomi blushed at the thought of Van being impressed with her beauty. After all they had been through, she didn't think her beauty would be that important. She rarely thought of herself as beautiful anyway.

"Come on Hitomi, there are snacks!" Merle lead Hitomi through the crowd to the hors d'oeuvres. As she passed, people watched her. She could tell just by looking that a few of the conversations were about her. Hitomi was not fond of being made the center of attention. Men in black dress uniforms were milling through the crowds with trays of glasses. Hitomi took one when offered. The beverage inside was sweet and tangy and felt warm as it ran down her throat.

Over the next half hour, Hitomi was introduced to and asked questions by several officials and ambassadors. How did she get here? What was the Mystic Moon like? Would there be more people coming from the Mystic Moon? Hitomi didn't really know how to answer most of the questions so she smiled and nodded when necessary and asked them questions about their kingdoms instead. There were ambassadors from Freid, and Basram, as well as a very oddly dressed man from Ezgardia. Hitomi was beginning to feel a little dizzy from the drink she had consumed, when trumpets sounded from the back of the hall.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, honored guests, we shall now commence the feast portion of this evenings festivities. If you will turn your attention to the left, you will see doors open onto the dining hall. Please find your seats." The door man from before bowed as large doors Hitomi had not noticed swung inward, revealing another large hall with a glass ceiling. She followed the crowds as they filed into the new room. There were name cards at all of the seats. Hitomi walked around for a little while unable to find one with her name. She began to worry that she had been forgotten when one of the uniformed men with trays offered to lead her to her seat.

Hitomi was seated at the main table in front of the hall, in clear view of everyone. "My lady, as honored guest, you were reserved a seat at the kings table." The man bowed to her and left. Hitomi sat looking out at the sea of people, acutely aware of how visible she was. No wonder Van had sent her a beautiful dress. She was seated for the meal in between two of the highest level officials from the palace. These were Van's royal advisors. These were the men that Van spent so much time meeting with about what was going on in greater Gaea. Hitomi hadn't thought about her vision since meeting with Van. Now the images of fire and destruction came back vividly to her all at once. Perhaps these men were the ones she should tell.

Neither official spoke to her throughout the entire meal. In fact, they barely even looked at her at all. They didn't seem the slightest bit interested in the news or opinions of the "Ambassador from the Mystic Moon." Perhaps they didn't even believe that she _was_ from the Mystic Moon. Van was seated several spaces away much closer to the center of the table. It was only natural that the King should be placed at the center. When he had entered, he hadn't even glanced in her direction. Merle was seated near the other end of the table, so Hitomi wasn't able to converse with her at all. Once again, Hitomi found herself feeling alone.

Each course of the meal was paired with some form of alcoholic beverage. By halfway through the meal Hitomi was feeling rather dizzy and giddy. She was formulating what she would say the next time she and Van spoke, when trumpets sounded again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, honored guests, we shall now commence the entertainment portion of this evening's festivities. If you would please vacate your tables, we shall move them to the side and begin the music and dance." There was immediate commotion in the hall. Everyone was getting up and moving to the sides at once, and all of the tables were wheeled through the doors to the adjacent room. All of a sudden the room was empty of all tables and a group of musicians carrying instruments Hitomi didn't quite recognize entered the room. The crowd moved back to the floor and began to dance to the music that was now emanating from the musician's corner of the room.

Hitomi's skin was warm from the alcohol and the music was soothing. She smiled in spite of all the events since she had arrived. A gentleman wearing the colors of Asturia approached her then.

"Lady of the Mystic Moon, may I have the pleasure of your company on the dance floor?" His hand was offered and his head was bowed.

"I don't know the dance."

"That is perfectly alright. I will lead."

Hitomi tentatively put her hand in his and stood. The room swam for a moment, but she quickly regained her balance, and allowed herself to be lead to the dance floor. The gentleman was not unattractive, but he seemed older. He was a lovely dancer however, and Hitomi never had to worry about a single step. She admired how her dress flowed as she was twirled around the dance floor. The smell of flowers floated through the room.

Van had been careful throughout the meal to only taste small portions of the drinks that accompanied his food. He had ordered that his drinks be milder than the what was normally served, however, it could never hurt to be more clear headed. He wasn't partial to drinking most of the time anyway, and only did at all at functions such as these where it was expected. He watched the servants clear the floor, and the guests move to begin their dance. He never danced himself, but he enjoyed watching the spectacle of color that the hall filled with dancers produced. He rarely drank, he never danced, Merle would call him a boring King. Van enjoyed evenings such as these, but the troubles of Gaea were never far from his mind, and over the last day the troubles of his heart had eclipsed even that. His brow furrowed as he troubled himself again with what he could say next time. What could he say that would make it better? How could he make her understand?

Van saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned just in time to see Hitomi taking the hand of a man from Asturia. He hadn't seen her yet this evening. She turned to follow the Asturian and Van saw her clearly for the first time. His heart skipped a beat. There were beads in her hair, and her evening dress draped over her small frame revealing just enough shape to entice the imagination. He could tell, even from this distance, that her cheeks were slightly flushed. He watched as she followed the Asturian out onto the dance floor. Of course he was Asturian… Van felt a small resentment rise within him. If only he danced… All at once, he found what he would say.


End file.
